Fiberglass pools are manufactured at one location and then shipped in their fabricated condition for installation at a desired location. The installation site includes an excavated hole which corresponds in shape and size to the fabricated fiberglass pool. The pool components are shipped by truck, and the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) rules generally limit the width of loads on roadways to 16 feet wide. Exceptions are allowed but are cost prohibitive. Consequently, the size and shape of fiberglass pools are typically limited to the 16 feet width imposed by the DOT. Non-fiberglass pools, such as concrete pools constructed on-site, are not width restricted and are available in a variety of pool shapes and sizes.
In an effort to create a variety of shapes and sizes of fiberglass pools, installers have used a method in which two fiberglass pool elements are shipped to the installation site and then bolted together at the installation site by using a vertical flange joint. This method of construction requires excavating a hole with a recessed area that corresponds exactly with the size and shape of the vertical flange joint. It also requires access to the underside of the pool elements to create the vertical flange joint, which can be difficult in a work site setting. This and other prior art methods of construction require bolting together multiple panels and require careful alignment of the flange and gasket to form multiple watertight seals. In other prior art, multiple tongue and groove joints were used. Assembling the multiple tongue and groove joints together at a worksite can be time consuming as well as problematic.